South Asia

This term is used nowadays in preference to the older term the Indian Subcontinent as it contains other countries apart from the largest, India. These are Pakistan in the north-west, Bangladesh (former East Pakistan) in the east, Nepal and Bhutan in the north-east and Sri Lanka (former Ceylon) in the south, off the south-east tip of India. It also includes the island republic of the Maldives off the south-west coast of India in the Arabian Sea.